Housing for keyboard musical instruments

ABSTRACT

A housing for a keyboard musical instrument comprising a pair of sideboards of metal extending downward from a pair of sidearms supporting a keyboard, each of the sideboards having an outside member, front and rear end members bent substantially perpendicular to the outside member at front and rear ends thereof, and front and rear inside members extending from the front and rear end members respectively and bent substantially parallel to the outside member. Front and rear panels of the musical instrument are connected, respectively, between the front inside members of the pair of sideboards and between the rear inside members thereof.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Masakatu Iijima Hamamatsu, Japan 21 1 Appl. No. 64,754 [22] Filed Aug. 18, 1970 [45] Patented Aug. 31, 1971 [73] Assignee Nippon Gakki Seizo Kabushiki Kaisha Hamamatsu-shi, Shizuoka-ken, Japan [32] Priority Aug. 21, 1969, Aug. 21, 1969, Aug. 21,

1969 [3 3 Japan [3 l 1 /7 9515 LUJQflfiJindAA/HQZJ [54] HOUSING FOR KEYBOARD MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS 7 Claims, 10 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.Cl 84/177, 84/352 [51] Int.Cl G106 3/02, G 10b 1/08 [50] 84/177,

Field of Search [56] References Cited 7 UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,174,671 10/1939 Sauerland 84/177 2,486,354 10/1949 Zaiser 84/177 Primary Examiner-Richard B. Wilkinson Assistant ExaminerJohn F. Gonzales Attorney-Flynn & Frishauf ABSTRACT: A housing for a keyboard musical instrument comprising a pair of sideboards of metal extending downward from a pair of sidearms supporting a keyboard, each of the sideboards having an outside member, front and rear end PATENIEUAusm I971 3,602,083

sum 1 UF 2 F I G. 1A

PRIOR ART PRIOR ART PROR RT FIG. 4

HOUSING FOR KEYBOARD MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS I BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a housing for keyboard musical instruments such as electronic organs, and more particularly-tea novel type of such housing wherein a pair of sideboards fixed to the underside of a pair of sidearms consist of metal plates, the sidearms being positioned on both sides of a keyboard support member on which there are arranged'a plurality of keys in a prescribed order of musical notes. 1 A housing for keyboard musical instruments generally cornprises a keyboard support member disposed above the floorsurface at a prescribed height on which there are arranged a plurality of keys; a. pair of sidearms fitted on both sides of the keyboard support member; a pair of sideboards respectively fixed to the undersides of the sidearms; a front panel disposed below the keyboard support member between the'front end parts of the sideboards; and a back panel positioned between the rear end parts of the sideboards.

With a conventional keyboard electronic musical instrument, particularly an electronic organ, there is further fixed all along the lower edge of the Sideboards a baseboard on which there are disposed-a plurality of pedal keys operable by foot and an expression pedal for control ofsound volumes. All these constituent members are made of wood.

In recent years, however, there has been an acute shortage of wood material with aprominent tendency toward high cost. Even where there has been procured wood material for manufacture of such musical instrument, it has to be dried for long hours before it can be put to practical use, obstructing the mass production of the musical instrument. Moreover, since there is required wood material of considerable thickness, the resultant musical instrument becomes too heavy for easy transport. These drawbacks are particularly noticeable ina keyboard electronic musical instrumentusing the aforementioned baseboard. Where the housing comprises I wood sideboards, the musical'inst-rument presents the 'undermen tioned shortcomings. Namely, referring to FIGS. lAand 1B, :1 sidearm II and a sideboard I2 are connected by means of one or more (generally two) projections 13 formed either on the lower edge of the sidearm 11 or on the upper edge of the sideboardtl2 and one or moredepressions formed in the other of these members andengag eable with said projections 13, whereby they are preliminarily joined to define their relative positions. Where the side. arm 1 1 and side board 12 are so formed as to have their-inner planes disposed. flush with each other as shown in, FIG. 1A, there is directly fitted a web board I6 along the flush inner planes of the sidearm l1 and sideboard l2 and these members 11 and 12 are tightly joined by a plurality of wood screws 17. Where the inner planes of the sidearm II and sideboard l2 define a stepped portion as shown in FIG. 1B there is fitted into the stepped portion a reinforcement board 15 having a thicknessequal to the depth of the. stepped portion; Thereafter the sidearm I1 and sideboard 12 are joined similarly by wood screws 17 with the surface of the reinforcementboard 15 disposed flush with the inner plane of the sidearm 11. However, the aforementioned prior means for joining the sidearm 11 and sideboard 12 had the drawbacks that the joining required considerably troublesome work and moreover these members should-consist of appreciably thick wood in order to assure their joined strength, resulting in increased cost and weight. There were further shortcomings that there occurred a more or less gap between the inner plane of the sideboard l2. and that of the sidearm II to which there was fitted the web board 16 directly or through the reinforcement board 15, and that the'projections 13 (generally of wood) were likely to be broken off, so that the sidearm l1 and sideboard I2 possessed a relatively low joined strength and were subjected to nonuniform stresses and particularly weak to a rotation moment.

Further, a pair of sideboards 12(only one of them'is shown in FIG. 2) are spatially disposed as described above, and a w front panel 21 and a rear panel 22 which are stretched across SUMMARY or THE INVENTION The present invention has, been accomplished in view of the aforesaid situation and is intended .to providea novel housing fora keyboard musical instrument wherein each sideboard consists of a metal plate and has an outsidemember, front and rear end members bent substantially perpendicular to the outside member front and rear ends thereof, and front and rear inside members extending from the front and rear end members respectively and bent substantiallyparallel to the outside member, whereby the front and rear panels of the musical instrument are easily connected, respectively, between the front inside members of the pair of sideboards and between'the rear inside members thereof, and assembling efficiency is greatly elevated and material cost and weight are considerably reduced.

BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGS. 1A and 1B are sectional'views of different means for joining sidearms'and sideboards as used in a conventional keyboard musical instrument;'

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the sideboards joined with front and rear panels as used in the conventional keyboard instrument;

FIG. 3 is a schematicperspective view showing the entire housing of an-electronic organ constructed according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view on line IV-IV of FIG. 3 as viewed in the direction of the. arrows;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view on line-V-V of FIG. 3'

as viewed inthe direction of the arrows;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view on line Vl-Vl of FIG. 3 as viewed in the direction of thearrows;

FIGS. 7A and 7B are sectional views of different modifications of a sideboard involved in the-housing of a keyboard musical instrument constructed according to the invention; and

keyboard musical instrument constructed according to another embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED-EMBODIMENTS There will now be described by reference to the appended drawings the preferred embodiments of a keyboard musical instrument according to the present invention, FIG- 3 is a. schematic perspective view of the entire housing of an electronic organ constructed according; to one embodiment thereof. The housing comprises a pair of side arms 31 and 32, between which there are supported a key bed 33 and a top panel 34. On the key bed 33'are mounted upper and lower keyboards 35 and 36, each'of which consists of a plurality of keys juxtaposed in two parallel rows. Under the top panel 34 is housed a sliding cover or lid37 which can be pulled out to cover the keyboards 35 and 36 whenthe musical instrument is not used. The sidearms 3l'and 32 are made of wood or plastics and formed into plate members of a predetermined shape extending vertically downward.'From thelower ends of the outside member 51 of substantially flat shape, front and. rear' FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the main part of the housing of a end members 52 and 53 bent substantially perpendicular to the outside member 51 at front and rear ends thereof, and front and rear inside members 54 and 55 extending form the front and rear end members 52 and 53 respectively and bent substantially parallel to the outside member 51. The front and rear inside members 54 and 55 are directed toward each other. The front panel 40 is connected between the front inside members 54 of the pair of sideboards 38 and 39, and the rear panel 41 is connected between the rear inside members 55 of the pair of sideboards'38 and 39. The front and rear inside members 54 and 55 may have edge members 56 and 57 bent from the ends of the members 54 and 55 and extending substantially perpendicular to the outside member 51, and the front and rear panels 40 and 41 may be connected to the edge members 56'and 57 by means of screws 58 and 59. The outer surfaces of the outside member 51, end members 52 and 53, and inside members 54 and 55 may be covered with decorativepanels such as paper or plastic sheets. In the front panel 40 connected between the sideboards 38 and 39 there is formed a notched portion 42 so as to place therein the front part of a pedal keyboard 43 having a plurality of pedal jets juxtaposed in a prescribed order of musical notes of which keys panel 40there is also formed a cutout window 44 in which'is mounted an expression pedal 45 operated upon depression by foot to control a sound volume (FIG. 1). The front panel 40 is also provided on its inside with a loudspeaker 46 for reproducing desired musical sounds derived from selective depression of the upper and lower manual keys or pedal keys.

To attach the sideboard 38 and 39 to the corresponding sidearm 31 or 32, there is provided in advance, as shown in enlargement in FIG. 5, a fitting plate 60 prepared from a metal plate having a suitable length by bending both ends thereof in opposite directions to form a pair of end portions or tongues 61 and 62 which extend parallel upward and downward respectively.

v The sidearm 31 or 32 (only the sidearm 31 is shown in FIG. '5) has a cutout or recessed portion 67 formed along the inner bottom end corner thereof. In the cutout or recessed portion 67 is placed the upper end of the sideboard 38 fabricated as described above in such a manner that the edge member 57 extends toward the interior of the housing from the inner wall ;of the sidearm 31 at right angles thereto. One end portion or tongue 62 of the aforesaid fitting metal plate 60 is brazed or soldered to the prescribed part of the inner wall of the outside member 51 of the sideboard 38 so as tocause the otherend portion or tongue 62 of the fitting metal plate 60 to contact the prescribed part of the inner wall of the sidearm 31. To the sidearm 31 is fixed by a wood screw 64 the other tongue 62 of the metal plate 60. Further into the lower edge or cutout portion 67 of the sidearm 31 is screwed a wood screw 65 through a tlrough hole 63 perforated in the substantially middle part lof the taper section of the fitting metal plate 60 connecting both end portions or tongues 61 and 62. Thus, the fitting plate 60 is fixedly secured to the sidearm 31 by use of two screw means 64 and 65 directed at an angle to each other, securing the firm coupling between the sidearm 31 and the sideboard 38. Holes 66 formed in the edge member 57 of the sidearm 31 are intended to cause the screws 59 to be inserted therethrough so as to support the rear panel 41 on the sideboard 38.

As mentioned above the housing of a keyboard musical instrument constructed according to the present invention involves sideboards consisting of a relatively thin metal plate bent into the aforementioned shape instead of a relatively thick wood member used in the conventional musical instrument, whereby not only cutting material cost and reducing weight to facilitate transport, but also eliminating the necessity of conducting long hours of drying as has been conventionally required for the wood members used in a musical instrument with the resultant elevation of its mass productivity.

As seen from FIG. and description given by reference thereto, the present invention enables the sideboards 38 and 39 to be fixed to the sidearms 31 and 32 with a greater strength than has been possible with the prior art and further causes wood screws to be inserted not only into the inner walls of the sidearms but also into the lower ends thereof from the taper portion of the fitting metal plate 60 thereby supplying the assembly of the sidearms and sideboards with a sufiicient strength to withstand a mechanical rotating stress.

Wlth a keyboard electronic musical instrument, for example, an electronic organ provided witha plurality of pedal keys and an expression pedal for controlling sound volumes which are all operated upon depression by foot, the conventional device involved a base member made of relatively thick wood material stretched across the lower ends of the sideboards so as to mount the pedal key andthe expression pedal thereon, whereas the present invention uses a metal base member shown in FIG. 6 instead of said wood base member. Namely, according to the embodiment of FIG. 6, a pair of side base members 71 of metal each assuming a relatively narrow rectangular shape are placed in spaces defined by theoutside members 51, the end members 52 and 53, and the inside memt bers 54 and 55, and are brazed or soldered to the lower parts of the sideboards 38 and 39 in such a manner as to be disposed substantially parallel to the outside members. However, these rectangular side base members 71 may be, constituted by bending the lower end parts of the sideboards 38 and 39 themselves. The embodiment of FIG. 6 further involves a front metal base member 72 and a rear metal base member 73 constituting a base frame 74 along with the aforesaid side base members 71, said front and rear base members 72 and 73 being brazed or soldered at both ends to the rectangular metal base members 71 at a prescribed space from the front panel 40 and the rear panel 41, and being arranged substantially parallel to each other with a predetermined space therebetween.

Between the front and rear base members 72 and 73 is bridged fitting boards 75 and 76 on which the pedal keyboard 43 and the expression pedal 45 are mounted, the fitting boards 75 and 76 serving to strengthen the base frame 74. A keyboard electronic musical instrument using the aforementioned base frame 74 has the effect of further reducing materi' al cost and weight. r

Fig. 7A represents a modification of the sideboards 381 in which there is formed a stepped portion 81 in the outside member 51 of the sideboard 381. FIG. 7B illustrates a modification of the sideboards 382 in which there is formed a substantially semicircular depression 82 in the outside member 51 of the sideboard 382. The stepped portion '81 and the substantially semicircular depression 82 extend vertically downward from the upper ends of the outside members 51 to the lower ends thereof, thus constituting strengthening ribs therefor. A

ing to the present invention. The embodiment involves anant tiresonance substance consisting of, for example, foamed plastics material filled into a space or void area defined by the outside member 51, the end members 52 and 53, and the in side members 54 and 55. The antiresonance substance 90 is intended to prevent the occurrence of mechanical vibrations arising form the resonance phenomenon of the sideboards when there are played musical sounds.

As apparent from FIGS. 3, 4 and 6 to 8, the apparent thickness of the sideboard, i.c., the length between the outside member 51 and the inside member 54 and 55 can be readily set by fabricating the sideboard from a single metal plate as explained hereinbefore. Further, those outer surfaces of the housing which are represented by the outside members 51, the end members 52 and 53, and the inside members 54 and 55, may be coated with a layer of plastics material, for example, polyvinyl chloride bearing a grained or leathery pattern, whereby there will be realized a better design or visual appeal.

What is claimed is:

l. A housing for a keyboard musical instrument comprising a pair of sidearms, a plurality of keys Supported therebetween, a pair of sideboards of metal connected to said pair of sidearms respectively and extending vertically downward therefrom, each of said sideboards having an outside member, front and rear end members bent substantially perpendicular to said outside member at front and rear ends thereof, and front and rear inside members extending from said front and rear end members respectively and bent substantially parallel to said outside member, a front panel connected between the front inside members of said pair of Sideboards, and a rear panel connected between the rear inside members of said pair of sideboards.

2. The housing according to claiml wherein said front and rear inside members have at free ends thereof edge members respectively which extend substantially perpendicular to said outside members, and said front and rear panels are connected to said inside members through said edge members.

3. The housing according to claim 1 which further comprises fitting plates of metal each having a middle portion perforated with a through hole and having both end portions bent in opposite directions, one of said end portions being fixedly secured to the sidearm and the other of said end portions being fixedly secured to he corresponding sideboard, and screw means inserted in said through hole and screwed in said sidearm. Y

4. The housing according to claim 3 wherein said sidearm has a cutout portion formed along the inner bottom end thereof, and said sideboard has an upper end placed in said cutout portion.

5. The housing according to claim 1 which further comprises a pair of side base members of elongated rectangular shapes placed in spaces defined by said outside members, said end members and said inside members, said side base members being fixed to said sideboards, and front and rear base members bridging said pair of side base members, said front and rear base members being arranged parallel to each other with a predetermined space therebetween. v

6. The housing according to claim 1 which further comprises antiresonance substances filled into spaces defined by said outside members, said end members, and said inside members.

7. The housing according to claim 1 wherein said outside members have strengtheningribs formed therein. 

1. A housing for a keyboard musical instrument comprising a pair of sidearms, a plurality of keys supported therebetween, a pair of sideboards of metal connected to said pair of sidearms respectively and extending vertically downward therefrom, each of said sideboards having an outside member, front and rear end members bent substantially perpendicular to said outside member at front and rear ends thereof, and front and rear inside members extending from said front and rear end members respectively and bent substantially parallel to said outside member, a front panel connected between the front inside members of said pair of sideboards, and a rear panel connected between the rear inside members of said pair of sideboards.
 2. The housing according to claim 1 wherein said front and rear inside members have at free ends thereof edge members respectively which extend substantially perpendicular to said outside members, and said front and rear panels are connected to said inside members through said edge members.
 3. The housing according to claim 1 which further comprises fitting plates of metal each having a middle portion perforated with a through hole and having both end portions bent in opposite directions, one of said end portions being fixedly secured to the sidearm and the other of said end portions being fixedly secured to the corresponding sideboard, and screw means inserted in said through hole and screwed in said sidearm.
 4. The housing according to claim 3 wherein said sidearm has a cutout portion formed along the inner bottom end thereof, and said sideboard has an upper end placed in said cutout portion.
 5. The housing according to claim 1 which further comprises a pair of side base members of elongated rectangular shapes placed in spaces defined by said outside members, said end members and said inside members, said side base members being fixed to said sideboards, and front and rear base members bridging said pair of side base members, said front and rear base members being arranged parallel to each other with a predetermined space therebetween.
 6. The housing according to claim 1 which further comprises antiresonance substances filled into spaces defined by said outside members, said end members, and said inside members.
 7. The housing according to claim 1 wherein said outside members have strengthening ribs formed therein. 